If you follow this blog, you know that something I do from time to time is participate in something Whitney and I call “collective blogging.”  We come up with a topic from to write about, and then we both write our own versions of a post on the chosen topic.  To check out past collective blogs, please click here.

Today’s Topic: The C25K Challenge

To read Whitney’s post on The C25K Challenge, please click here.

Last week, Whitney and I wrote about New Year’s Resolutions.  One resolution we both happened to have involved physical fitness.  Big shocker, right?  Who doesn’t make a New Year’s Resolution about getting into shape every year?  But this year is different.  Really, it is!!  This year, I’m getting married in June and then going on a honeymoon to Hawaii.  Getting in shape is not an option – it HAS TO HAPPEN.

I’ve made valiant attempts over the last few months to find a fitness routine and stick to it.  I was doing pretty well around October-November with a combination of yoga/pilates/weight training, using my DVDs and hand weights in the living room to start toning up.  But then December came and it all went to crap.  I felt guilty… but not that guilty, because I was rather enjoying sitting curled up on the couch watching TV and knitting.  And as much as I like my Women’s Health: The Wedding Workout DVD, it just isn’t all that motivating once you’ve done the workout for a week.  It gets boring.

Then I happened to see someone tweet about something called C25K.  What was this?  I wondered.  So I googled it, and discovered that C25K is a running program/schedule designed to get you off the couch and running a 5K in nine weeks.  I’ve dabbled in running here and there, but I tend to give up because it’s either too much of a time-suck for me, or I get discouraged by my asthma.  So I thought about it and realized the C25K program might be just the thing to get me to run on a regular basis without… well, wanting to DIE.  Since running is one of the best ways to get in shape quickly, it seemed to solve my problem as far as looking my best for the wedding.

So I did what any good twitterer does: I tweeted about it, asking the twitterverse how they felt about C25K.  I got a few responses, all saying to try it because they were doing it and it was pretty good.  Then I got a tweet from Whitney, saying if I do it, she’ll do it with me.  AH!  PERFECT! A buddy to keep me motivated!

And so it was that Whitney and I decided to start the C25K program together… on March 1.  You’re probably wondering why March 1, and not now.  Seems like procrastination, right?  But there is a good reason, I promise!  I CANNOT run in my current physical state in the cold.  I absolutely will have an asthma attack – it’s happened before, more than once.  And because money is a little tight because of the wedding, I can’t go join a gym to get started on a treadmill now.  So I figured out that by March it should be a little warmer than it is now on a regular basis, and that gives me around 12 weeks to be up to a 5K by the wedding.  Perfect! (As a sidenote, I have this pipe dream about running on the beach while we’re on our honeymoon, I think it sounds very cool.  I don’t really know why.)  We’re going to be keeping tabs on each other using MapMyRun, which should help since Whitney and I don’t exactly live down the road from each other!  I’m also considering purchasing the C25K iPhone/iPod Touch app, which is supposed to tell you when to run and when to walk, without interrupting your music.  Anything to help me along!

I have made a vow to be on a healthy-stuff only diet, and to do my yoga and weights at least 3 times a week – starting… now! – so my body isn’t completely shocked come March.  Wish me luck, please!  I will need it!

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1. Hiatus
2. The Couch's Tale
3. New Year’s Resolutions: First Collective Blog of 2010
4. First Crush Experiment
5. A Day in the Life of a Geeky Kid (and Her Mom)